Hospital bed with network interface unit

ABSTRACT

A system includes at least one computer device coupled to a hospital Ethernet, the hospital Ethernet having at least one wired access point and at least on wireless access point. The system also includes a hospital bed and a network interface unit (NIU) that facilitates communications from the hospital bed to the at least one computer device.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/960,768 which was filed Dec. 20, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,746,218,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/189,781which was filed Jul. 27, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,319,386, and whichclaimed the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/652,699 filed Feb. 14, 2005; of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 60/642,692 filed Jan. 10, 2005; and of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/598,045 filed Aug. 2, 2004;each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to systems that monitor equipment and/orpatients in hospital rooms and that alert caregivers to alarmconditions. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systemsthat monitor equipment, such as hospital beds, and that communicate viaa network of a healthcare facility with computers at nurse call stationsand with caregivers carrying one or more communication devices.

Equipment in hospitals and other healthcare facilities sometimescommunicate the status of the equipment via a network to a computerlocated at a nurse station or other location in the facility. If analarm condition is detected, some sort of notification of the conditioncausing the alarm is shown on the display screen of the computer. See,for example, the network disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,363 in which anumber of different patient care devices provide information to aworkstation at a nurse's station. Hospital beds are another example ofequipment that sometimes communicates information via a network to acomputer at a nurse's station. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.5,561,412 and 5,699,038. Caregivers sometimes wear or carry badges thatcommunicate wirelessly with the network of the healthcare facility.Information from the badges, and from receivers with which the badgescommunicate, sometimes is used to determine the location of caregiversin the healthcare facility. Some caregivers may carry other wirelesscommunication devices, such as pagers, wireless telephone handsets,personal digital assistants (PDA's), and other types of voicecommunication devices.

After a nurse at the master nurse's station sees that an alarm conditionexists, the nurse may contact another caregiver assigned to a patientassociated with the alarm condition so that the contacted caregiver canattend to the alarm condition. Thus, such systems require one person totake action to contact another person to attend to the alarm condition.The nurse at the master nurse's station may sometimes contact caregiversabout alarm conditions that are not of consequence to the care of theassociated patient and about which the contacted caregiver would prefernot to have been notified. U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,355 discloses a system inwhich alarm conditions detected by various pieces of equipment aretransmitted to a master alarm control which then automaticallycommunicates information about all received alarm conditions to pagerscarried by designated caregivers, unless an operator at the master alarminterrupts the transmission of an alarm after it is received at themaster alarm control. In such a system, the pieces of equipment atdisparate locations determine their own alarm conditions and when analarm condition occurs, the assigned caregivers are notified via theirpagers. Thus, the caregivers may be paged about alarm conditions that donot require the attention of the caregiver. Receiving undesirednotifications of alarm conditions may reduce the productivity ofcaregivers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a system and/or method that has one ormore of the following features and/or steps, which alone or in anycombination may comprise patentable subject matter:

The system may comprise at least one computer device operable to displaytemplate screens that permit users to configure the types of alarms towhich one or more caregivers are to be alerted. The template screens mayinclude a list of the conditions of the equipment being monitored whichcan be selected on the template screen, via selection of a check box,radio button, or the like, so that when the condition is met, the systemalerts one or more caregivers to the alarm condition. In some instances,one or more numerical quantities representing associated alarm conditionthresholds may be entered on the template screen. Alarm conditions maybe considered to exist when a monitored condition is equal to, not equalto, greater than, greater than or equal to, less than, or less than orequal to the associated alarm condition thresholds. The system may beconfigured to permit users to create new template screens in which alertconditions of the user's choosing may be included on the user-createdtemplate. The template screens may permit users to select the level ofpriority, such as high, normal, or low, to be assigned to one or moreparticular alert conditions. The system may be configured so that, whenan alarm condition associated with a particular patient or piece ofequipment occurs, the system automatically sends a message to notify aprimary caregiver of the alarm condition.

The automatic notification may be an alphanumeric message sent to aportable wireless communication device, such as a pager, PDA, wirelesscommunication badge, wireless phone handset, or any other portablewireless device having text messaging capability. Alternatively oradditionally, the automatic notification may be a system-generated audiomessage to a portable wireless communication device, such as thosementioned previously, or to one or more system-selected audio stationswhich are located throughout a healthcare facility, typically nearpatient beds. The system may determine which audio station shouldprovide the audio message to the caregiver based on information from alocating-and-tracking portion of a system which monitors the whereaboutsof caregivers in a healthcare facility.

If the system is unable to locate the primary caregiver within apredetermined period of time, or if the primary caregiver does notrespond to the system's attempt to notify the primary caregiver of thealarm condition within a predetermined period of time, then the systemmay operate to automatically notify a secondary caregiver of the alarmcondition in any of the manners just described. The system may havescreens on which users can indicate the manner in which the primarycaregiver, secondary caregiver, and other caregivers are to be notifiedwhen the system receives data indicative that an alarm condition exists.For example, users may configure the system so that the primarycaregiver is notified of an alarm condition by an audio message sent tothe primary caregiver's wireless communication badge and so that thesecondary caregiver is notified of the alarm condition by sending analphanumeric message to the secondary caregiver's pager. The system maybe configured such that notification of alarm conditions are notgenerated by the system automatically, but rather, alarm conditions arecommunicated to the primary and secondary caregivers by a person at themaster nurse call station. One or more screens at the master nurse callstation may have icons, such as a call icon or a page icon, that theuser selects to send the alarm notification. Alternatively oradditionally, the system may be configured such that a person at themaster nurse call station is permitted a period of time to contact aprimary or secondary caregiver about the alarm condition, and if theperiod of time elapses, then the system automatically initiatescommunication of the alarm notification to the primary or secondarycaregiver's portable wireless communication device.

The system may monitor various conditions of a plurality of hospitalbeds located in different rooms of a healthcare facility. The system maycomprise software that, when executed, causes any one or more of thefollowing types of information to be displayed on a computer screen: afloor plan showing each room of at least a portion of the healthcarefacility; color coding to indicate the status of each room; the colorcoding may, for example, show a room in green if the room is ready (or aportion thereof, for multi-occupant rooms) to receive a patient, show aroom in yellow if the room (or a portion thereof needs to be cleaned),or show red if an alarm condition is occurring in the hospital room (ora portion thereof); an image of a hospital bed with portions of the bedbeing color coded to indicate an alarm condition associated with thecolored portion of the image; information about the condition of thebed, such as head section angle, the status of a bed exit alarm (or apatient position monitoring system included in the bed), the height ofan upper frame of the bed relative to a base frame, whether thesiderails are up or down, the status of a therapy of a surface of thebed (such as percussion therapy, lateral rotation therapy, alternatingpressure therapy), the status of a turn assist function of the mattress,the status of an inflatable vest which is inflated via componentsincluded on the bed, whether the bed is receiving power from a walloutlet, and whether certain functions of the bed are locked out ordisabled; event notification information, such as the type(s) of eventsfor which notification is to be given (for example, siderail lowered,head section raised beyond a certain angle, bed exit detected), anyreminders regarding checking in on patients periodically; patientinformation such as a patient's name, the patient's primary caregiver,the patient's secondary caregiver, the room to which the patient isassigned, whether the patient is a fall risk, whether the patient isbeing restrained, and other notes about the patient or the patient'scondition; and a caregiver's location in the healthcare facility.

The system may communicate via a network of the healthcare facility withany one or more of the following: an electronic medical recordsdatabase, a nurse call badge, a nurse location badge, a workflowmanagement system, a personal data assistant (PDA), a voicecommunication badge, a badge having text message capability, acombination badge which performs a combination of functions of thebadges already listed, a wireless telephone handset, and a pager.

The system may cause an image, or a portion of an image, to flash whenan alarm condition or alert condition associated with the image isoccurring. The terms “alarm” and “alert” are used interchangeably hereinand each of these terms is intended to cover the meanings of both. Thesystem may cause the image or portion of the image to cease flashingwhen the system detects via data from a nurse locating and trackingportion of the system that a caregiver has entered the room in which thealarm condition is occurring. If the system detects that the caregiverhas exited the room without rectifying the alarm condition, the systemmay notify the caregiver via an audio alarm (such as a voice message), avisual alarm (such as a text message), or other type of alarm (such asvibrations), which are communicated to the caregiver via a badge, PDA,pager, or other portable wireless device carried by the caregiver.

The system may be configurable such that when the location and trackingportion of the system detects that a particular caregiver (or type ofcaregiver) has entered a particular room, or otherwise is in closeproximity to the bed, various functions of the bed will automatically bedisabled and/or enabled and/or modified by the system. Thus, the bed maybe configured automatically by the system for the caregiver without thecaregiver having to press or otherwise manipulate any controls on thebed. Examples of functions that may be functionally modified in responseto detection of caregiver presence include motor control access,confidential data access, Standard of Care Notification, therapycontrols, and nurse call system access.

A system for alerting caregivers of alarm conditions in a healthcarefacility may comprise a computer device that is programmable bycaregivers to designate a first set of alarm conditions to which thecaregiver is to be alerted during a first period of time and todesignate a second set of alarm conditions to which the caregiver is tobe alerted during a second period of time. The first period of time andthe second period of time may partially overlap, or the second period oftime may begin upon the expiration of the first time period, or thefirst and second time periods may be separated by an interim timeperiod. At least one of the first and second time periods may begin orend in response to detection by the system of a predetermined condition.At least one of the first and second time periods may begin or end at apredetermined time. Some of the alarm conditions of the first set mayalso be included in the second set. At least one of the alarm conditionsof the first set may be considered to exist when a monitored conditionis equal to, not equal to, greater than, greater than or equal to, lessthan, or less than or equal to a first threshold and one of the alarmconditions of the second set may be considered to exist when themonitored alarm conditions is equal to, not equal to, greater than,greater than or equal, less than, or less than or equal to a secondthreshold that is different than the first threshold. The system maycommunicate a reminder to at least one caregiver a preset amount of timebefore or after the expiration of the first period of time. The firstset of alarm conditions may be based on a first Standard of Care for apatient and the second set of alarm conditions may be based on a secondStandard of Care for the patient.

A system according to this disclosure may comprise a hospital bed whichhas circuitry that monitors a plurality of bed parameters and at leastone computer spaced from the hospital bed. The at least one computer maybe operable to permit caregivers to designate alarm thresholds for asubset of the plurality of bed parameters. The at least one computer maycommunicate to the hospital bed the types of bed parameters of thesubset for which alarm thresholds have been designated. The hospital bedmay operate to communicate to the at least one computer device dataassociated with the subset and the hospital bed may refrain fromcommunicating to the at least one computer data associated with otherbed parameters not in the subset. The at least one computer device maycommunicate to the hospital bed at least some of the alarm thresholds.The bed may operate to monitor the subset of bed parameters and tocommunicate to the at least one computer device an alarm signalindicating that an alarm condition has been detected based on acomparison of at least one of the alarm thresholds to the associated bedparameter.

A network interface unit may be coupleable to bed communicationscircuitry of a hospital bed and may be configured to communicate datavia a data link to a hospital Ethernet. The data link may comprise awired data link, a wireless data link, or both. The network interfaceunit may be configured to convert data received from the bed in a formataccording to a first protocol into a format according to a secondprotocol, such as an Ethernet protocol. The network interface unit maybe coupled to a legacy (i.e., existing) nurse call system and dataformatted according to the first protocol may be fed through the networkinterface unit and communicated to the legacy nurse call system whileremaining formatted according to the first protocol.

A hospital bed contemplated by this disclosure may comprise bed controlcircuitry for controlling a plurality functions of the bed and formonitoring at least some of the plurality of functions. The hospital bedmay also comprise a network interface circuit that is coupleable to ahospital Ethernet via a data link. The data link may comprise a wireddata link, a wireless data link, or both. The network interface circuitmay be configured to format data received from the bed control circuitryinto a format according to an Ethernet protocol.

A system according to this disclosure may comprise at least one nursecall computer device coupled to a hospital Ethernet which may have atleast one wired access point and at least on wireless access point. Thesystem may comprise a hospital bed having associated therewith bedidentification (ID) data. The system may also comprise a networkinterface unit (NIU) coupled to the bed via a first data link. The NIUmay have associated therewith NIU ID data. The NIU may have acommunications port that is coupleable to the Ethernet via a second datalink. The NIU may be configured to sense whether the communications portis coupled to the Ethernet via the second data link. If the NIU iscoupled to the Ethernet via the second data link then both the bed IDdata received by the NIU and the NIU ID data may be transmitted by theNIU to the Ethernet over the second data link. However, if the NIU isnot coupled to the Ethernet via the second data link then the NIU IDdata received by the bed may be transmitted wirelessly by the bed to oneof the wireless access points of the Ethernet along with the bed IDdata.

Additional features, which alone or in combination with any otherfeature(s), such as those listed above, may comprise patentable subjectmatter and will become apparent to those skilled in the art uponconsideration of the following detailed description of variousembodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the embodimentsas presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanyingfigures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing a hospital bed communicating witha number of devices included in a computer network of a healthcarefacility;

FIG. 2 is a screen shot of a Home screen that appears on a computer inaccordance with software included as part of a system according to thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot of a Patient screen showing an image of ahospital bed in which no alarm conditions are occurring;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of the Home screen showing room 413 being colorcoded in red to indicate that an alarm condition is occurring in room413;

FIG. 5 is a screen shot of the Patient screen showing a siderail of thehospital bed being color coded in red and moved in the image to alowered position to indicate the alarm condition occurring in room 413is associated with the lowering of the siderail;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a Head Angle Administration screen;

FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a Side Rails Administration screen;

FIG. 8 is a screen shot of the Side Rails Administration screen showingvarious check boxes, text boxes, and radio buttons being selected toprogram the system with the alarm conditions to be associated withvarious siderail positions;

FIG. 9 is a screen shot of a Reminders Administration screen;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing various components of a network ofdevices in a healthcare facility, the network including a nurse callsystem including a nurse call server which executes nurse callapplication software and a number of nurse call client personalcomputers (PC's), and the network including a number of different typesof communication devices;

FIG. 11 is a screen shot of a Call Management screen showing an IncomingCalls Window that lists the nurse calls received by a Master Nurse Callstation, a Staff Window beneath the Incoming Calls window, a set ofCall/Page buttons to the left of the Incoming Calls and Staff Windows, aCall Window to the right of the Incoming Calls Window, and a Patient'sCaregivers Window beneath the Call Window;

FIG. 12 is a screen shot, similar to FIG. 11, showing an Edit drop downmenu on which a Care Alert Template option is highlighted;

FIG. 13 is a screen shot, similar to FIG. 11, showing a patient-specificdrop down on which a Patient Care Alert option is highlighted;

FIG. 14 is a screen shot of a Patient Care Alert Template showingvarious check boxes and radio buttons selected to program the systemwith the alarm conditions to be associated with bed status;

FIG. 15 is a screen shot of a Whiteboard screen showing an overview ofthe patients and room status of the associated unit;

FIG. 16 is a screen shot showing an Alert Information pop-up windowappearing as a result of an alert icon of the Whiteboard screen beingselected;

FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic view showing a hospital network having one ormore computer devices that receive data from one or more beds, one ormore other pieces of equipment, and one or more patient monitoringdevices and that communicate alarm conditions to one or more caregiversbased on alarm condition thresholds set by the one or more caregivers;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing an algorithm that is executed by thecomputer device(s) of FIG. 17 to determine whether an alarm conditionexists based on a comparison of data from a current state database todata in a boundary condition database;

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing an algorithm, similar to the algorithmof FIG. 18, but having multiple boundary conditions databases and havinga progressive state equation database in which is stored data about CareAlert configurations that are to be applied at different times;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a hospital bed having bedcommunication circuitry and a wired/wireless network interface unit thatis coupled to the bed communication circuitry and that is configured forcommunication with a hospital network via a wired interface and/or awireless interface;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram, similar to FIG. 20, showing a wired/wirelessnetwork interface unit integrated into the circuitry of the bed;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a network interface unit which hascouplers for coupling to a bed, a nurse call system, and a hospitalEthernet;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a hospital bed coupled to a nursecall system through the network interface unit and the hospitalEthernet; and

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a hospital bed coupled to the networkinterface unit and communicating wirelessly with the hospital Ethernet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A hospital bed 10 communicates with a computer network or system 12 of ahealthcare facility as indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 1 bydouble-headed arrows 14. Included in network 12 is a nurse call system16, an electronic medical record database 18, a nurse call/locatingbadge 20, one or more computers programmed with workflow processsoftware 22 (such as, for example, NaviCare® software which is availablefrom Hill-Rom Company, Inc.), one or more personal digital assistants(PDA's) 24, one or more voice communications badges 26, and one or morepagers 28. In some embodiments, nurse call system 16 and badges 20 areof the type available as part of the ComLinx™ system from Hill-RomCompany, Inc.

In some embodiments, voice communications badges 26 are of the typeavailable from Vocera Communications, Inc. Illustratively, badge 26 hasa text message screen 27 on which various text messages indicative ofalarm conditions or other information are displayed. Badges 26 are alsoconfigured to audibly communicate system-generated audio messages tocaregivers regarding alarm conditions or other information. Thecommunications link 14 between bed 10 and network 12 may be a wiredlink, a wireless link, or a combination of wired and wireless links. Thebed 10 may communicate directly with the respective hardware associatedwith one or more of system 16, database 18, badges 20, one or morecomputers operating software 22, PDA's 24, badges 26, and pagers 28, orbed 10 may communicate with each of these via other hardware included innetwork 12, such as servers, routers, hubs, wireless access points,transceivers, and any other hardware provided by a healthcare facilityin its network (e.g., LAN, WAN, and/or Ethernet).

In accordance with this disclosure, one or more computers included innetwork 12, such as computer 30 of nurse call system 16, is programmedwith system software that operates to generate the screen shots shown inFIGS. 2-11. The screen shots of FIGS. 2-11 appear on a display screen 31associated with computer 30. FIG. 2 is a screen shot of a Home screen 32that appears on a computer in accordance with the software included aspart of a system according to the present disclosure. On the left handside of Home screen 32 are a menu icon 34, a staff icon 36, a patienticon 38, a location icon 40, an admin icon 42, and a help icon 44. Whenon any of screens shown in FIGS. 2-9 a user can select any of icons 34,36, 38, 40, 42, 44 and the system will respond with a screencorresponding to the selected icon. Screen 32 has a floor plan or layout46 showing a plurality of patient rooms (illustratively, rooms 400through 423) of a wing of a healthcare facility and showing a masternurse call station 48. The rooms are color coded to indicate certainroom conditions. In the illustrative example of FIG. 2, rooms 407, 410,and 411 are color coded green to indicate that the rooms are ready for apatient and room 405 is color coded yellow to indicate that the roomneeds to be cleaned.

According to this disclosure, a caregiver manipulates an input in ahospital room to indicate to computer 30 (directly or via network 14)whether an associated hospital bed is clean or dirty. In someembodiments, the caregiver signals whether an associated bed is clean ordirty via a menu and user inputs on an audio station in the patientroom. For example, the caregiver may scroll on a menu, or otherwisenavigate through options on a display screen of the audio station, sothat a “bed is dirty” message (or similar message) appears on thedisplay screen of the audio station and then the caregiver presses anenter key or button or moves a switch or touches a designated portion ofa touchscreen or otherwise manipulates an input on the audio station toindicate that the bed is dirty. Similarly, the caregiver may scroll ornavigate on the audio station menu top a “bed is clean” message and thenmanipulate the input on the audio station to indicate that the bed isclean.

In other embodiments, the bed clean/dirty status is communicated tocomputer 30 by a switch or button mounted on a wall in the hospitalroom, such as a room wall or a wall of a headwall unit. In still otherembodiments, a caregiver manipulates a switch or button or menu screenlocated on the hospital bed, such as on a siderail or a foot board ofthe hospital bed, for example, to signal computer 30 as to theclean/dirty status of the associated hospital bed. Alternatively oradditionally, the bed clean/dirty status of an associated hospital bedmay be communicated to computer 30 via wireless voice communicationdevices, such as badges 26. In such embodiments, a voice recognitionsystem or an interactive voice response system receives verbalstatements from the caregiver carrying one of badges 26 (e.g., “Room103, bed 1 is clean”) and converts the verbal statements into electronicdata that is transmitted to computer 30 so that the clean/dirty statusof the associated bed is updated in a database associated with computer30. In some such embodiments, the interactive voice response system mayprompt the caregiver to state certain words (e.g., “State ‘clean’ if thebed is clean, state ‘dirty’ if the bed is dirty, and then state the roomnumber.”). In still further embodiments, telephones or telephonehandsets (wired or wireless) may have numbers which a caregiver isprompted to press by the interactive voice response system to indicatethe bed clean/dirty status (e.g., “Please enter the room number.”[caregiver responds by typing room number on telephone keypad] “If thebed is clean, press 1; if the bed, is dirty press 2” [caregiver respondsby typing 1 or 2 on the telephone keypad]).

Referring again to FIG. 2, if a user selects icon 36, the systemresponds with a page that allows caregivers to be assigned to thevarious patient rooms, either as a primary caregiver or a secondarycaregiver. If a user selects one of the rooms on screen 32, the systemresponds with a screen relating to certain information about the patientin the particular room selected. For example, if a caregiver selectsroom 413, such as by placing a cursor over the room and clicking ordouble-clicking a mouse, or by toggling to the room via tab or arrowkeys on a computer keyboard, or by touching the screen on the desiredroom, then the system responds with a Patient screen 50, shown in FIG.3, having information about hospital bed 10 in patient room 413 andother information.

Screen 50 includes a name block 52 in which the patient's name isentered and a notes block in which additional notes about the patient orthe patient's condition may be entered as shown in FIG. 3. Screen 50also includes a Fall Risk check box 54 that is checked to indicate thatthe patient has a risk of falling and a Restrained check box 56 that ischecked to indicate that the patient is restrained (i.e., that thepatient is confined to bed 10 or that the patient is not to leave bed 10without an alarm). Screen 50 further includes a Primary Caregiver textbox 58, a Secondary Caregiver text box 60, and a Standard of Care (SOC)Template text box 62. In the illustrative example, box 58 indicates thatBetty is the primary caregiver assigned to room 413 and box 60 indicatesthat Fred is the secondary caregiver assigned to room 413. Box 62 ofscreen 50 indicates that a Restraint Template has been configured forthe patient in room 413. The system may be configured by caregivers toalarm when certain conditions of the bed and/or patient and/or otherequipment included in network 12 are met. In FIG. 3, screen 50 includesan image of bed 10 when no alarm conditions are occurring on bed 10.

Referring now to FIG. 4, Home screen 32 has room 413 color coded in redto indicate that an alarm condition is occurring in room 413. If theuser then selects room 413 on screen 32 of FIG. 4, the system respondswith Patient screen 50 as shown in FIG. 5. However, due to the alarmcondition in room 413, screen 50 now provides a visual indication of thecondition that resulted in the alarm being generated by the system. Inthe illustrative example of FIG. 5, an image of a siderail 64 of bed 10is shown in a lowered position and is color coded red to indicate thatthe alarm condition is that the siderail 64 of bed 10 has been lowered.

If a user selects location icon 40, the system responds with a list ofcaregivers that are carrying locating badges 20 and/or badges 26 and/orany other type of badges or hand-held devices which communicates withthe network 12 wirelessly to track the whereabouts of the caregivers.The user may then select a desired caregiver from the list and thesystem will respond with a location screen (not shown) which includes alayout (similar to layout 46) on which an icon is provided to indicatethe location of the desired caregiver.

If a user selects a patient room and then selects admin icon 42, thesystem responds with one of a number of Administration pages, such asthose shown in FIGS. 6-9. In the illustrative example, when a room isselected and then icon 42 is selected, the system responds with a HeadAngle Administration screen 65 as shown in FIG. 6. Screen 65 includes anSOC Template Manager Tab 66 which, when selected, shows a Template menu70 which allows a user to select from a list of Template types and thento either add or delete the Template type for the associated patientroom by selecting either an add icon 72 or a delete icon 74,respectively. Page 65 has a Template Name text box to indicate the nameof the Template being shown. Page 65 also has an Event NotificationTemplate Manager tab which may also be selected, if desired, to causethe system to respond with an Event Notification Template Manager screen(not shown).

Illustrative page 65 includes an SOC Parameter(s) table 76 on which arelisted categories and subcategories of parameters that may be configuredfor generating an alarm or alert (e.g., an event notification) by thesystem. In the illustrative example, the categories are Patient Safety,Surface Therapy, Bed Maintenance, and Reminders. Under the PatientSafety category, the reminders are Bed Exit Alarm, Brakes, Height, HeadAngle, and Side Rails. Under the Surface Therapy category, thesubcategories are Percussion, Turn Assist, and Vest. Under the BedMaintenance category, the subcategories are Power Disconnected andLockout Enabled. Under the Reminders category, the subcategories areRestraint Order and Turn Patient.

In the illustrative example, the Head Angle subcategory under thePatient Safety category is selected. Screen 65 has an Enable EventNotification check box 78 that is selected (e.g., checked) if the userwants to have the system generate an alarm when a head angle (e.g.,angle of articulation of a head section of bed 10) meets or exceeds athreshold value. Screen 65 also has an Event Notification text box 80 inwhich the message to be communicated (either via a text message onscreen 27 or computer 30 or via a system-generated audible statementfrom badge 26, for example) to caregivers by the system. A drop downmenu of such event notification messages is provided in the illustrativeexample and is accessed by selecting the arrow to the right of box 80.Because the Head Angle subcategory is selected, screen 65 also has aHead Angle box 82 in which the threshold angle is listed. Up arrow icon84 and down arrow icon 86 are selectable by a user to adjust thethreshold angle up or down, respectively, from the angle shown in box82.

The system responds with a Side Rails Administration screen 88, shown inFIG. 7, if subcategory Side Rails is selected on menu 76. Screen 88includes some of the same menus, text boxes, check boxes, etc. that weredescribed above in connection with screen 65 and therefore, the samereferences numerals are used to denote these without repeating theassociated descriptions. Screen 88 includes a check box 90 adjacent thephrase “Left Foot Rail should be” and screen 88 also includes an Upradio button 92 adjacent the word “Up” and a Down radio button 94adjacent the word “Down.” If the system is to be configured such that aposition of the left foot rail of bed 10 result in an eventnotification, then box 90 is selected or checked by a user and thedesired one of buttons 92, 94 is also selected by the user. Buttons 92,94 are mutually exclusive in that selection of one of buttons 92, 94automatically results in the other of buttons 92, 94 being unselected.Similar provision is made on screen 88 for setting similar alarmconditions for the other three siderails of bed 10 but are not describedherein for the sake of brevity.

Illustrative screen 88 includes a Standard button 96, a Restraint button98, and a Reset button 100. Selecting standard button 96 configuresscreen 88 automatically in one way corresponding to a standard set ofalarm conditions and selecting restraint button configures screen 88automatically in a different way corresponding to a restraint set ofalarm conditions. Selecting Reset button 100 clears the selections thatwere made previously on screen 88. An illustrative example of how screen88 may be configured by user is shown in FIG. 8 in which various checkboxes, text boxes, and radio buttons have been selected to program thesystem with the alarm conditions to be associated with various siderailpositions.

The system responds with a Reminders Administration screen 102, shown inFIG. 9, if subcategory Reminders is selected on menu 76. Screen 102includes some of the same menus, text boxes, check boxes, etc. that weredescribed above in connection with screen 65 and therefore, the samereferences numerals are used to denote these without repeating theassociated descriptions. Screen 102 includes a Reminders Period box 104in which a reminder period is entered to program the system how oftenone or more caregivers are to be reminded of a condition typed in box80. Screen 102 also includes a Reminder Before Expiration box 106 inwhich is typed how long before the expiration of the reminder period thecaregiver(s) is/are to be notified.

According to this disclosure, the system may be configurable such thatwhen a locating-and-tracking portion of the system detects that aparticular caregiver (or type of caregiver) has entered a particularroom or otherwise is in close proximity to the bed, various functions ofthe bed will automatically be disabled and/or enabled and/or modified bythe system. Thus, the bed may be configured automatically by the systemfor the caregiver without the caregiver having to press or otherwisemanipulate any controls on the bed. Examples of functions that may befunctionally modified in response to detection of caregiver presenceinclude motor control access, confidential data access, Standard of Care(SOC) Notification, therapy controls, and nurse call system access.

It is contemplated by this disclosure that when a locating-and-trackingportion of the system detects that one or more caregivers, of theappropriate type, have entered a particular room, SOC Notification(e.g., alarm conditions configured on one of the Event Notificationtemplates, which are sometimes referred to herein as Care Alerttemplates) is automatically disabled by computer 30 so that alertsoccurring in a particular room are not transmitted to any caregiverswhen appropriate caregivers are already present in the room where thealert conditions are occurring. If the one or more designated caregiversleave the room without rectifying the alert condition, then an SOCNotification is initiated by computer 30 to one or more designatedcaregivers. The system, therefore, stores information about whichcaregivers are assigned to each patient and is able to discern the typeof caregiver in the room, based on information received from thelocating-and-tracking portion of the system, so that alert notificationsare disabled only if the proper type of caregiver is present in theroom. For example, it may not be desirable for the system to disable thealert notification is a food service caregiver enters the room insteadof an assigned caregiver.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a network 110 of a healthcare facilityincludes a nurse call system 112 that includes a nurse call module (NCM)server 114 and one or more NCM client personal computers (PC's) 118.Server 114 is coupled to hospital network infrastructure 120 via a wiredor wireless communication link 122. The architecture of network 110 isgenerally at the discretion of information technology personnel of thehealthcare facility and may include additional pieces of hardware (notshown) such as routers, backup power systems, and medical equipment,such as patient monitors, hospital beds, X-ray systems, and so on havingnetworking capability. Devices such as servers, PC's, data storagedevices, and any other pieces of hardware or equipment havingprocessors, such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, fieldprogrammable gate arrays, programmable logic controllers, or otherlogic-based components for processing data, are considered to becomputer devices according to this disclosure.

In the illustrative example, a CADTI server 124 of an Admission,Discharge, and Tracking (ADT) system (other components of the ADT systemnot shown) is also included in network 110. Network 110 further includesa locating server 130, a first communication system server 134, a secondcommunication system server 136, and a plurality of additional servers138. Illustratively, only two servers 138 are shown, but are intended tobe representative of all of the other servers that are included innetwork 110. Each of the various servers 114, 124, 130, 134, 136, 138has a processor (not shown) for executing associated applicationsoftware. Of primary interest in the disclosure of the presentembodiment is the nurse call software of server 114 and PC's 118.Associated with PC's 118 and server 114 are display screens 119.

It is contemplated by this disclosure that each of servers 114, 124,130, 134, 136, 138 may transmit data to, and receive data from, each ofthe other servers 114, 124, 130, 134, 136, 138 so that the applicationsoftware on each of servers 114, 124, 130, 134, 136, 138 has access todata on each of the other servers 114, 124, 130, 134, 136, 138. Forexample, locating server 130 is coupled to a plurality of transmitterand/or receiver units 140 which transmit and/or receive wireless signalsto/from locating-and-tracking tags 142 that are mounted to pieces ofequipment or carried by caregivers. One way that caregivers often carrytags 142 is by clipping or otherwise attaching the tags 142 to theirclothing or by wearing the tags 142 on chains or cords around theirnecks. Tags 142 are sometimes referred to as “badges” by those in theart.

Locating server 130 executes software to track the whereabouts ofequipment and caregivers throughout the associated healthcare facilitybased on wireless signals received by units 140 from tags 142. Thus,server 130, units 140, and tags 142 operate as a locating-and-trackingsystem 141 of network 110. In some embodiments, units 140 periodicallytransmit a wireless query within a limited area of the healthcarefacility and any tags 142 within the limited area respond bytransmitting unique identification (ID) data which is received by anassociated unit 140 and forwarded to server 130. In other embodiments,tags 142 periodically transmit to any units 140 within range, theirunique ID's without being queried. Server 130 associates the unique IDdata from the tags 142 with ID data, such as a serial number, of thecorresponding unit 140 which receives the wireless transmission from thetags 142. During execution of the nurse call software by server 114, ifthere is a need for data relating to the location of any equipment orpersons being tracked by the locating-and-tracking software beingexecuted by server 130, then server 114 sends a query to server 130 andserver 130 responds with the requested information, if it is available.Alternatively, server 130 may periodically update server 114 with someor all of the data corresponding to the whereabouts of the equipment andcaregivers being tracked and server 114 may store such data in theserver's memory for possible future use.

Communication server 134 executes application software to send andreceive communication data to/from one or more communication units 144which, in turn, communicate wirelessly with portable wirelesscommunication devices 146 carried by caregivers. In the illustrativeexample, server 134, units 144, and devices 146 are configured tosupport voice communications between users of devices 146 and the otherportions of the network 110. Server 134 determines what other portion ofnetwork 110 users of devices 146 are intending to communicate with andtransmits data representative of the voice communications to thatportion of network 110. For example, the healthcare system's standardtelephone system includes one or more private branch exchanges (PBX's)150 and a plurality of telephones 152. Server 134 is coupled to the oneor more PBX's 150 to communicate therewith. Network 110 also includesone or more Digital Phone Switch (DXP) units 154 that are coupled to thePBX's 150 via associated T1 lines 156. A plurality of Audio Stations 158of nurse call system 112 are located throughout the healthcare facility,typically in patient rooms, and are also coupled to the DXP units 154.Thus, users of portable wireless communication devices 146 can speak toand hear from users of telephones 152 and users of audio stations 158.In some embodiments, audio stations 158 are substantially similar tothose described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,561,412 and 5,699,038 which arehereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

In one embodiment, devices 146 and units 144 are the type marketed byVocera Communications, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. and sold under theVocera™ brand name. Such Vocera™ devices 146 (referred to sometimes asbadges) may be worn by users in the same manner as tags 142 describedabove. The Vocera™ badges 146 and Vocera™ units 144 communicate over an802.11b LAN infrastructure and also with the PBX's 150 via server 134which executes associated Vocera™ server software. Devices 146 and units144 which communicate according to wireless communications protocolsother than 802.11b, such as the Bluetooth protocol, for example, arecontemplated by this disclosure. In some embodiments, server 134comprises multiple servers, one server operating software provided byVocera Communications, Inc. (the “Vocera server”) and another serveroperating software provided Emergin, Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. (the“Emergin server”). The Emergin server converts messages received fromthe Vocera server from the 802.11b protocol into the appropriateprotocol for the hardware for which the message is destined and convertsmessages destined for the Vocera server into the 802.11b protocol fromthe protocol in which it was received by the Emergin server.

Illustrative network 110 also includes a pager system 160 which iscoupled to server 136 and which includes a plurality of pagers 162carried by some of the caregivers. Also coupled to server 136 and toPBX's 150 are one or more master control units 164 of a dedicatedwireless telephone system of the health care facility. The dedicatedwireless telephone system further includes a number of base stations 166and number of wireless telephone handsets 168. As was the case withVocera™ badges 146, handsets 168 are considered to be portable wirelesscommunication devices according to this disclosure. While it is withinthe scope of this disclosure for network 110 to have any type ofdedicated wireless telephone system, or none at all, in someembodiments, units 164, base stations 166, and handsets 168 are of thetype marketed by Spectralink Corporation of Boulder, Colo. and/or ASCOMLtd. of Berne, Switzerland. The Spectralink™ base stations 166 andhandsets 168 communicate wirelessly via a scheme of frequency hoppingspread spectrum over four TDMA channels in the 902-928 MHz radiofrequency range. The Spectralink™ master control units 164 communicatewith the PBX's 150 of system 110 either via a digital and/or an analoginterface.

Each audio station 158 is coupled to one or more beds 159 via associatedcommunications circuitry 161 as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 10 (onlyone audio station 158 is illustrated to represent a plurality of suchstations 158). In some embodiments, caregivers wear or carry tags 163which transmit signals received by receivers 165 which are also coupledto circuitry 161 as also shown diagrammatically in FIG. 10. Thus, tags163, receivers 165, circuitry 161, and audio stations 161, when present,operate as a locating-and-tracking system 167 of network 110 that isseparate from system 141. In some embodiments, tags 142 may communicatevia radio frequency (RF) signals, whereas tags 163 may communicate viainfrared (IR) signals. Because IR signals require line of sight betweentags 163 and receivers 165, receivers 165 are less apt to receive asignal from tags 163 unless the caregiver is actually present in theroom in which the associated receiver is located, whereas RF tags 142have a tendency to transmit signals through walls, floors, and ceilingssuch that signals form tags 142 may be picked up by multiple units 140located in different rooms or hallways in a healthcare facility. In someembodiments, tags 142 and/or tags 163 may use other types of wirelesstransmission (e.g., ultraviolet or ultrasonic) and in some embodiments,tags 142 and/or tags 163 may use multiple types of wireless transmission(e.g. IR and RF). Locating-and-tracking information from system 167 isused by server 114 to determine the whereabouts of caregivers in amanner substantially similar to that described above in connection withsystem 141 and therefore, is not repeated herein for the sake ofbrevity.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a Call Management screen 170 of system 112 hasan Incoming Calls Window 172 that lists the nurse calls coming in to aMaster Nurse Call station at which one of PC's 118 is located. In oneembodiment, up to 5 incoming calls may be shown in window 172. Theapplication software of system 112 may be configured to permit more orless than 5 incoming calls to be displayed in window 112. Window 172shows the room number, patient's name, and alarm condition of themonitored equipment for each patient placing a nurse call. On the firstline of the illustrative example of window 172, John Smith is the nameof the patient, room 107A is the room in which John Smith is located,and the word “Normal” indicates that one or more normal alarm conditionsare occurring in connection with the equipment that is being monitoredby the system and that is associated with John Smith.

Screen 170 has the highest priority of all of the screens displayed atthe Master Nurse Call Station. If the PC 118 at the Master Nurse CallStation has remained idle for a predetermined amount of time, thensystem 112 will operate to automatically display screen 170 on themonitor or display of PC 118. The predetermined amount of time at whichsystem 112 defaults back to screen 170 can be set by the user byaccessing a menu which appears after an Admin icon 171 is selected andthen after System Control and System Timeout options are selected withinthe associated drop down menus. In one embodiment, the menu that allowsthe system timeout to be selected by the user includes options forselection of either 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes, or never.

An answer button 174 is shown on each line in window 172 for which acall is being placed. The calls to system 112 are displayed in window172 in order of priority, which is normally in the order (i.e., date andtime) received by system 112. However, depending upon whether system 112detects an alarm condition, then calls placed from rooms in which analarm condition are detected are prioritized ahead of calls from roomswhere no alarm condition exists. Alarms may be designated as havingeither high, normal, or low priority. Thus, high priority alarms arelisted in window 172 ahead of those having normal or low priority. If acaregiver at the Master Nurse Call Station wants to answer the call froma particular patient, the caregiver selects the answer button 174 nextto the patient's name, such as by moving a computer mouse to place acursor over the button icon and then clicking a button on the mouse.Other methods of selecting buttons 174 are within in the scope of thisdisclosure and include using the tab or arrow keys on a computerkeyboard to highlight the desired icon 174 and then pressing the enterkey of the keyboard or by touching the screen, such as with a finger,stylus, or light pen, on the area of the screen on which the desiredbutton 174 is displayed.

When an answer button 174 is selected, system 112 and the associatedequipment of network 110 respond by establishing a voice communicationslink between the Master Nurse Call Station and either the Audio Station158 associated with the patient or with a microphone and speaker systemprovided on the patient's bed. When one call is answered, the othercalls appearing in window 172 are grayed out. When the caregiver selectsone of buttons 174 to answer a call from a particular patient, system112 operates to display information about the particular patient in aCall Window 176 of screen 170. Window 176 lists the patient's name androom numbers in a larger font than other text on screen 170 and includesa Notes/Risks text area 178 in which any comments entered into system112 about the patient are displayed. A layout image or floor plan 180 ofthe wing of the hospital in which the associated patient is located isalso shown in window 176. The room in which the particular patient islocated is highlighted on image 180 with color coding. In theillustrative example, a room 182 is highlighted green to indicate the“normal” alarm status of the monitored equipment in room 107A in whichJohn Smith (the patient's whose call has been answered) is located.

Window 176 also includes a Hang Up button 184, a Hold button 186, and aCall Nearest button 188. Button 184 is selected by the caregiver at theMaster Nurse Call Station when the caregiver wants to end the call withthe patient. Button 186 is selected by the caregiver at the Master NurseCall Station when the caregiver wants to place the current call on hold,possibly so that the caregiver can answer another call. If a patient isplaced on hold, then a corresponding icon image (i.e., a set of ellipsesand a phone, in the illustrative example) is placed in the associatedrow in the Incoming Calls window 172 of screen 170 so that the caregiverknows which patients have been placed on hold. Button 188 is selected ifthe caregiver at the Master Nurse Call station wants to call the neareststaff member, possibly to direct that caregiver to the room of thepatient making the call. If the patient making the call has not beenplaced on hold, then network 110 operates to establish a 3-waytelecommunications conference when the nearest caregiver who iscontacted as a result of button 188 being selected answers the call.

Screen 170 further includes a Staff Window 190 beneath the IncomingCalls window 172 as shown in FIG. 11. Window 190 lists the names ofmedical staff, the numbers of the medical staff, and the location of themedical staff for those persons on the medical staff who are beingtracked by the locating-and-tracking system 141 and/or system 167.Window 190 also includes a Call button 192 and a Page button 194 whichare selected to direct system 112 to initiate a call or page,respectively, to the associated caregiver. Optionally, the last timethat persons on the staff were located may appear in window 190 forthose caregivers having tags 142 of system 141, or whose locations areotherwise tracked, such as, for example, via badges 146 havinglocating-and-tracking capability or via system 167.

If a call to a caregiver is initiated by selection of one of buttons192, then the appropriate commands are sent by server 114 to the otherportions of network 110 to make the call. For example, if the caregiveris carrying a badge 146, then server 114 communicates with server 134 inconnection with making the call, but if the caregiver is carrying ahandset 168, then server 114 communicates with server 136 in connectionwith making the call. If the caregiver is not carrying one of badges 146or one of handsets 168, then call buttons 192 will be usable on screen170 only if system 112 is notified of the caregivers whereabouts bysystem 141 in which case selection of the associated button 192 resultsin a call to the audio station 158 where the caregiver is located.Buttons 192 are grayed out for those caregivers who are not located bysystem 141 or system 167 (as the case may be), who do not have onebadges 146, who do not have one of handsets 168, and who do not have anyother type of device which allow wireless voice communications with thecaregiver as part of network 110. If a page to a caregiver is initiatedby selection of button 194, then server 114 communicates with server 136resulting in a page being sent through system 160 to the selectedcaregiver's pager 162. For those caregivers do not have one of pagers162, the associated button 194 is either grayed out on, or absent from,window 190.

Screen 170 also has a Patient's Caregivers Window 196 which appearsbeneath window 176 when the caregiver at the Master Nurse Call Stationanswers a call from a patient by selecting the associated answer button174. Window 196 shows the names of any caregivers that are assigned tothe particular patient, the number of the caregiver, and the caregiver'slocation if the caregiver is being tracked by system 141 or system 167.In the illustrative example, window 196 shows that Amy Martin, LPN isthe nurse assigned to the patient John Smith whose call has beenanswered; John Cox, M.D. is John Smith's attending physician; and JudySmith, RN is the charge nurse assigned to John Smith. Window 196 alsoshows that Nurse Martin is in the Medroom, Dr. Cox is in the Lab, andNurse Smith is in room 109A. If button 188 is selected on window 176,then system 112 responds by calling the audio station 158 in room 109Abecause that is where the closest caregiver assigned to the callingpatient is located. Window 196 also includes call buttons 192 and pagebuttons 194 which operate the same as these same-numbered icons operatein connection with window 190 as described above.

Screen 170 further includes a set of Call/Page buttons to the left ofwindows 172, 190. The set of Call/Page buttons include a Call Patientbutton 200, a Call Staff Button 202, a Call Location button 204, and aPage button 206. Button 200 may be selected if the caregiver at theMaster Nurse Call Station wishes to place a call to a particularpatient. If button 200 is selected, system 112 responds with a windowthat either allows selection of the patient to be called from a list ofpatients or that allows the appropriate patient information, such as thepatient's location (such as room number) or names, to be entered into anappropriate field. Button 202 may be selected if the caregiver at theMaster Nurse Call Station wishes to place a call to a particularcaregiver. If button 202 is selected, system 112 responds with a windoweither that allows selection of the caregiver to be called from a listof caregivers or that allows the appropriate caregiver information, suchas the number of the caregiver's badge 146 or handset 168, to be enteredinto an appropriate field.

Button 204 may be selected to place a call to a particular audio station158 at a particular location in the healthcare facility. Such a call maybe placed, for example, to reach either a patient or a caregiver that isin the same location with the particular audio station 158. If button204 is selected, system 112 responds with a window either that allowsselection of the particular location to which the call is to be madefrom a list of locations or that allows the appropriate locationinformation, such as a room number or room name, to be entered into anappropriate field. Button 206 may be selected to initiate a page to aparticular caregiver. If button 206 is selected, system 112 respondswith a window either that allows selection of a particular caregiver tobe paged from a list of caregivers who are carrying pagers or thatallows a pager number to be entered into an appropriate field.

Screen 170 also has a Unit Information Window 208 which includes generalinformation about the unit or units associated with the Master NurseCall Station. In the illustrative example, a number of name boxes 210 inwhich the names of various persons on the medical staff appear. Theroles of the persons on the medical staff which appear in boxes 210 ofwindow 208 are at the discretion of the user who configures screen 170and generally will vary depending upon the type of unit associated withthe Master Nurse Call Station. In the illustrative example, boxes 210include the names of the Nurse Supervisor, the Transporter, theRespiratory Therapist, and the Pharmacist of the associated unit.

According to the present disclosure, users of system 112 withadministration rights may create Care Alert templates to setupcustomized screens on which other users select the types of events orconditions to which caregivers are to be alerted. Such users may alsomodify the default alarm conditions for existing templates. For example,selection by such users of an Edit icon on a main menu results indisplay of a drop down menu including a Template icon. Selection of theTemplate icon then results in another drop down menu which lists all ofthe available Care Alert templates, by name, along with a New icon.Selection of one of the available Care Alert templates results in theassociated Template being displayed with all of its default settings.The user having administration rights is then able to select, deselect,enter numerical alarm thresholds, and otherwise modify the alarmconditions associated with the selected existing Care Alert template.Selection of the New icon on the menu results in a menu of ParameterTitles that may be selected. Selection of an appropriate Parameter Titlethen allows the user to select particular parameters, options, andcontrol elements as outlined in the following table:

Parameter Control Title Parameters Options Element Bed Status Bed StatusHigh Radio buttons Alert Priority Medium Low Patient Safety Bed shouldbe in lowest position Check boxes Bed brakes should be set Patientshould remain in bed Side Rails Left Head Rail Check boxes Up  Down andLeft Foot Rail Radio buttons Up  Down Right Head Rail Up  Down RightFoot Rail Up  Down Motor Lockout All controls should be locked out Checkboxes (except emergency) Hi-Lo controls should be locked out Headposition controls should be locked out Knee position controls should belocked out Surface Surface High Radio buttons Therapy Therapy AlertMedium Priority Low Modes Prevention Checkboxes Pressure ReliefOpti-Rest Comfort Percussion Therapy 1 Radio buttons Therapy 2 Therapy 3Turn Assist Patient should be turned every Drop down lists        andSpin buttons Vest Therapy 1 Radio buttons Therapy 2 Therapy 3 Bed BedHigh Radio buttons Maintenance Maintenance Medium Alert Priority LowPower Bed is disconnected from the Check boxes Disconnect wall Bedfailure occurs Bed is moved to another location Patient Care PatientCare High Radio buttons Alert Priority Medium Low Patient Head anglebetween    and Drop down Positioning     degrees lists, Spin Always Nomore than    buttons, and     at a time. Radio buttons TrendelenburgReverse Trendelenburg Flat Up in Chair Patient should be up in chairDrop down lists Orders every         and For         Spin buttonsBetween         and         Reminders Reminders High Radio buttons AlertPriority Medium Low Restraints Notify when patient movement is Checkboxes, detected Drop down Patient is restrained lists, and Spin Reminderto renew restraint buttons orders        Reminder to check on patientevery       

The parameters listed in the above table are related to the status ofhospital beds and mattresses. It is within the scope of this disclosure,however, for parameters of other patient care equipment to be monitoredby system 112. Thus, the teachings of this disclosure regarding creatingand using Care Alert templates is applicable to all types of equipmentused in connection with patient care, not just hospital beds andmattresses. Such other types of patient care equipment may include IVpumps, ventilators, and patient monitors of all types including EKG's,EEG's, and pulse oximeters.

System 112 also includes one or more default templates which arepreprogrammed and which are automatically assigned to all patients whoare admitted to the hospital. In some embodiments, the default templatesnames are passed to the ADT system and an admissions officer of ahealthcare facility may, if desired, assign a Care Alert template to apatient using the ADT system during the admissions process and theassigned Care Alert template is communicated from the ADT system tosystem 112. A user of system 112 may verify or change the Care Alerttemplate selected by the admissions officer using system 112. In someembodiments, if the admissions officer does not assign a Care Alerttemplate to a patient, then a pre-selected default template may beassigned by system 112 to the patient automatically for subsequentverification or modification by users of system 112.

The default templates and custom-created templates are accessible byusers by either selecting an Edit button 212 and then a Care AlertTemplate button 214 which appears in an associated drop down menu 216,shown in FIG. 12, or by right clicking on a patient's name and thenselecting a Patient Care Alert button 218 in an associated drop downmenu 220, shown in FIG. 13. A particular patient's Care Alert templatecan also be accessed in manner similar to that illustrated in FIG. 13 byperforming similar steps in connection with a Whiteboard screen shown inFIG. 15.

FIG. 14 is a screen shot of an example of a Patient Care Alert Templatescreen 222 having configurable alarm conditions associated with the “bedstatus” portion of the above table. Screen 222 has a Chose Template box224 with an arrow icon 226 which, when selected, causes a drop down menu(not shown) to appear with options for pre-selected configurations ofscreen 222. In the present example, a Fall Prevention templateconfiguration option has been selected in box 224 resulting in variouscheck boxes and radio buttons being selected in screen 222 to configuresystem 112 with the alarm conditions to be associated with bed statusfor fall prevention. Screen 222 also has a menu 228 of other Care AlertTemplate screens which the user can access if desired. In theillustrative example, menu 228 includes a Bed Status button 230, aSurface Therapy button 232, a Bed Maintenance button 234, a Patient Carebutton 236, and a Reminders button 238. Button 230 is highlighted inFIG. 14 because the template associate with bed status is beingdisplayed. Selection of any of the other buttons 232, 234, 236, 238causes system 112 to respond with the associated template being shown onthe monitor of the associated PC 118. Buttons 230, 232, 234, 236, 238correspond to the parameter titles listed in the above table.

Screen 222 includes a Bed Status Alert Priority window 240 which hastherein a High radio button 242, a Normal (referred to sometimes inAppendix 2 as “Medium”) radio button 244, and a Low radio button 246.One of buttons 242, 244, 246 is selected to configure the priority levelto be assigned to the alarms associated with screen 222. In theillustrative example in which the Fall Prevention template configurationis selected, button 242 has been selected. If button 242, whichcorresponds to a High Priority Level, is selected, then when an alarmcondition occurs, system 112 responds by initiating a wirelesscommunication to all medical staff who are associated with the unit andwho have wireless communication devices; causing an audible alert toneat the Master Nurse Call Station; causing red, blinking indicators onthe monitor at the Master Nurse Call Station; and causing the domelights outside the patient's room to flash. If button 244, whichcorresponds to a Normal or Medium Priority Level, is selected, then whenan alarm condition occurs, system 112 responds by initiating a wirelesscommunication to the particular patient's assigned caregiver; causing anaudible alert tone at the Master Nurse Call Station; causing yellow,blinking indicators on the monitor at the Master Nurse Call Station; andcausing the dome lights outside the patient's room to flash. If button246, which corresponds to a Low Priority Level, is selected, then whenan alarm condition occurs, system 112 responds by initiating a wirelesscommunication to the particular patient's assigned caregiver; causing anaudible alert tone at the Master Nurse Call Station; causing a yellow,non-blinking indicator on the monitor at the Master Nurse Call Station;and causing the dome lights outside the patient's room to flash.

Screen 222 also has a Patient Safety window 248 which includes therein a“Bed should be in lowest position” check box 250, a “Bed brakes shouldbe set” check box 252, and a “Patient should remain in bed” check box254. In the illustrative example in which the Fall Prevention templateconfiguration is selected, all of boxes 250, 252, 254 are checked.Screen 222 further includes a Siderails window 256 which includestherein a “Left head rail” check box 258, a “Right head rail” check box260, a “Left foot rail” check box 262, and a “Right foot rail” check box264. Beneath each check box 258, 260, 262, 264 is an associated Up radiobutton 266 and an associated Down radio button 268. In the illustrativeexample in which the Fall Prevention template configuration is selected,check boxes 258, 260, 262, 264 are each checked and Up radio buttons 266are each selected to indicate that each of the siderails on both sidesof the patient's bed should be in the up position. The bed periodicallysends a signal to system 112 to indicate the position of the siderailsand if system 112 detects that any of the siderails have been lowered,then an alarm condition is considered to exist and system 112 reacts tonotify the appropriate caregiver or caregivers.

Screen 222 has a Motor Lock Out window 270 which includes therein an“All controls should be locked out (except emergency)” check box 272, a“Hi-Lo controls should be locked out” check box 274, a “Head positioncontrols should be locked out” check box 276, and a “Knee positioncontrols should be locked out” check box 278. Selection of check box 272locks out the associated bed's patient controls associated with themotors of the bed that raise and lower the upper frame, which carriesthe bed mattress, relative to a base frame of the bed. Selection of box276 or box 278 locks out the associated bed's patient controlsassociated with the motors of the bed that raise and lower the bed'shead section or thigh section, respectively. Selection of box 272 locksout all of the patients controls associated with all of the bed'smotors.

Window 270 also includes a Save button 280, a Reset button 282, and aCancel button 284. Selection of button 280 saves the settings that havebeen made to screen 222 and system 112 responds with a pop-up windowrequesting confirmation to verify that the changes made to the templateare for the associated patient only and not for all patients to which aFall Prevention template configuration has been applied. Selection ofReset button 282 returns page 222 to the default condition that existsfor the Fall Prevention template configuration, but page 222 continuesto be displayed. Selection of Cancel button 284 returns the user back tothe previous screen (i.e., the screen seen by the user prior to screen222) and any changes made by the user to screen 222 are not applied. Onsome of the available template configuration screens of system 112, oneor more numerical quantities representing associated threshold valuesabove which or below which an alarm is to be generated can be entered onthe associated template configuration screen. For example, a numberindicating a maximum permissible head section angle may be entered onsome template configuration screens.

The following are exemplary of the types of wireless communicationsinitiated by system 112 in response to data received by system 112matching one or more of the alarm conditions selected on one or moreCare Alert templates: paging a pager (with or without an associated textmessage indicating the alarm condition and patient room number); sendinga selected preprogrammed audio message to caregivers who are carryingone of badges 146 or one of handsets 168; sending a text message tobadges 146, handsets 168, or other wireless communication devices(PDA's, cell phones, etc.) having text messaging capability; and sendinga preprogrammed audio message to an audio station 158 at the locationwhere an assigned caregiver is determined to be by one oflocating-and-tracking systems 141, 167. Thus, when an alarm conditionoccurs, regardless of its priority level, system 112 operates to notifyone or more caregivers of the alarm condition automatically via a pageand/or text message and/or audio message. Thus, no one at the MasterNurse Station needs to take any further action to notify assignedcaregivers of alarm conditions. If desired, however, the caregiver atthe Master Nurse Call Station may follow up with one or more assignedcaregivers by contacting them directly from Call Management screen 170as described above. A database of system 112 stores information aboutthe types of wireless communication devices carried by each of thecaregivers and system 112 operates to initiate the appropriate type ofwireless communication based on the particular type of wirelesscommunication device carried by the associated caregiver.

With regard to a nurse call placed by a patient, or occurrence of analarm condition, which is to be communicated to an assigned caregivercarrying one of badges 146 or handsets 168 having voice communicationcapability, a dialing string is generated and transmitted by system 112in some embodiments so that, if the caregiver chooses to speak with thepatient (or other caregivers in the room) via the associated audiostation 158, the associated communication server 134, 136 is able todetermine which audio station 158 is to be contacted. For example, thedialing string may be in the format of PBX trunking card number, roomnumber (e.g., 81, 104). The dialing string appears on the associateddisplay screen of badge 146 or handset 168, as the case may be, and thecaregiver may select the dialing string to establish the communicationlink with the designated audio station 158.

As indicated in the table provided above, system 112 also has Care Alerttemplates related to surface therapy, bed maintenance, patient care, andreminders. With regard to the each of these other templates, eachassociated alarm condition may be assigned high, medium, or lowpriority. The description above of these priority levels in connectionwith the bed status template of FIG. 14 is applicable as well to theother Care Alert templates. In connection with surface therapytemplates, surface therapy modes named prevention, pressure relief,opti-rest, and comfort are listed in the exemplary table. Each of thesemodes relate to the manner in which an air surface, such as an airmattress, is controlled. Such air surfaces have inflatable bladders butmay also include other types of patient-support elements, such as foam,gel materials, engineered mesh fabric (such as Spacenet™ material), andthe like.

The Prevention mode refers to therapy modes associated with varioustypes of therapy surfaces, such as low-air-loss therapy, continuouslateral rotation therapy, and alternating pressure therapy. These sortsof therapies are generally intended to prevent patients from developingdecubitus ulcers, also known as pressure sores, and other complicationsassociated with long term immobility. The pressure relief mode refers tosituations where a surface, such as a mattress, is controlled so as toreduce interface pressure by inflating or deflating one or more bladdersor zones of bladders so as to maintain a predetermined target pressure(within a tolerance range). The opti-rest mode refers to a mode in whichzones are sequentially deflated to a lower target pressure for a periodof time and then re-inflated back to the original target pressure. Forexample, in a mattress having head, seat, and leg zones, the opti-restmode comprises deflating and re-inflating the head zone, then deflatingand re-inflating the seat zone, then deflating and re-inflating the legzone, and then repeating the sequence. The comfort mode refers tosituations where an air surface is simply controlled to a targetpressure which the patient or caregiver has selected.

A wide variety of alarm conditions to which caregivers are to be alertedand that are associated with each of the modes of the surface therapytemplate screens may be configured using system 112. The type of alarmconditions to include on a template screen depends upon thefunctionality of the surface on which a particular patient rests. Alarmconditions may be configured on a template for situations where atherapy is terminated prematurely, where a therapy continues after itshould have terminated, where pressure in a bladder or zone of bladdersexceeds a threshold entered into system 112 by a user, and wherepressure in a bladder or zone of bladders falls below a thresholdentered into system 112 by a user. Other alarm conditions on the surfacetherapy template may be based on siderail position (e.g., a siderail islowered during rotation therapy) or bed frame position (e.g., the headsection is raised during a therapy).

The surface therapy portion of the above table also lists percussion,turn assist, and vest as parameters for which alarm conditions may beconfigured using a surface therapy template. Percussion therapy refersto pulsing one or more bladders of an air mattress situated beneath achest region of a patient at a fairly high frequency so as to preventbuild up of fluid in the patient's lungs. As indicated in the abovetable, different percussion therapies are provided (listed as Therapy 1,Therapy 2, and Therapy 3 in the table). Each therapy may have a pulsefrequency, a pulse amplitude (e.g. peak pressure), and therapy duration,for example. Thus, alarm conditions associated with percussion therapymay include detection of a frequency that is too high or too low, apressure in one or more of the percussion bladders that is too high ortoo low, the therapy is terminated prematurely, and the therapycontinues after it should have terminated.

With regard to turn assist (which is not an ongoing therapy, but ratheris used to turn the patient on their side in order to change bed sheets,change a wound dressing, or remove/insert a bed pan, for example), thefrequency with which the patient should be turned may be entered in theappropriate field of the template as indicated in the above table. Itshould be noted that the turning frequency indicates, for example, howoften a bed pan should be changed or how often a wound dressing shouldbe changed. A caregiver initiates the turn assist function of thesurface by manipulating controls on the bed, usually on one or more ofthe bed siderails. Thus, system 112 periodically alerts caregivers thatit is time to go to a patient's room to turn the patient for theassociated reason (dressing change, bedpan change, etc.). The timeperiod between such alerts may be entered on the associated templatescreen in the hours, minutes format, for example.

The vest parameter of the surface therapy template refers to highfrequency chest wall oscillation (HFCWO) therapy which is delivered by avest worn by a patient. The vest includes one or more bladders that areoscillated pneumatically at very high frequency (e.g., about 5 Hertz toabout 25 Hertz) above ambient pressure to induce the patient to cough toexpel sputum. As indicated in the above table, different HFCWO therapiesare provided (listed as Therapy 1, Therapy 2, and Therapy 3 in thetable). Each HFCWO therapy may have an oscillation frequency, a baselinepressure (i.e., a pressure about which the pressure in the vest bladderoscillates), and a therapy duration. Thus, alarm conditions associatedwith HFCWO therapy may include detection of an oscillation frequencythat is too high or too low, a baseline pressure that is too high or toolow, the therapy is terminated prematurely, and the therapy continuesafter it should have terminated.

In connection with the bed maintenance templates, exemplary alarmconditions to which caregivers may be alerted include disconnection of abed from a wall (such as unplugging the AC power plug or unplugging anurse call cable), notification that a component of the bed (motor,circuitry, or sensors, for example) has failed (e.g., no longer operatesor is not operating properly or is too hot), and notification ofmovement of the bed to a new location (as indicated by alocating-and-tracking system or based on other wireless transmissionsfrom the bed, for example). In connection with the patient caretemplates, exemplary alarm conditions to which caregivers may be alertedinclude notification to if a head section of a bed is not within minimumand maximum angles (min and max thresholds entered by caregiver ontemplate screen), notification that a head section of the bed has beenmoved by more than a threshold amount of degrees, notification that thebed has moved into or out of a Trendelenburg position or reverseTrendelenburg position or flat position, notification that the patientshould be moved up in chair periodically for a selected period of timeand at a head section angle between minimum and maximum thresholds. Inconnection with the reminders template, exemplary alert conditions towhich caregivers may be alerted include notification that a patient hasmoved (as detected by a load cell based patient movement detectionsystem included in the bed, for example), notification that a patient'srestraint orders need to be renewed, and notification that it is time(or will soon be time) to check on the patient.

According to this disclosure, equipment other than hospital beds 159 maycouple to ports in hospital rooms and send alarm signals to system 112via the ports when the equipment detects its own alarm condition. Suchequipment may include any equipment used in the care of a patient,including patient vital signs monitors, equipment that monitors otherpatient physiologic conditions, ventilators, and IV pumps, just to namea few. In some embodiments, system 112 does not evaluate data receivedfrom other equipment via the ports to determine whether or not an alarmcondition exists. In such embodiments, if a signal is received by system112 from such equipment via the ports, then an alarm condition is, infact, occurring. In one embodiments, system 112 does evaluate the datareceived from the ports to determine if alarm conditions are occurringby comparing the data received from the ports to the alarm conditionsprogrammed using the associated template screens. In still otherembodiments, system 112 does not evaluate data from some ports and doesevaluate the data from others. In the one embodiment, three ports (namedPort 1, Port 2, and Port 3 by system 112) are included in each patientroom, although any number of ports are contemplated by this disclosure.When a piece of equipment is coupled to one of the ports, system 112receives data indicating the capabilities of the piece of equipment,either after querying the piece of equipment for such data or as aresult of the piece of equipment transmitting the data automatically inresponse to being connected to the associated port. Such data includesdata indicative of the type of equipment coupled to the port, thecapabilities of the equipment, and the status of the equipment.

One of the Care Alert templates according to this disclosure permitsusers to type in the name of each alarm being received at each of theports and to designate whether or not automatic notification to thewireless communication devices carried by designated caregivers is to beinitiated by system 112 in response to receipt of an alarm signal fromone or more of the ports in the rooms. These generalized equipment alarmtemplates may be set up differently for different patients, or not atall, as desired. When a generalized equipment template has been set upfor a patient, system 112 assigns the name “Equipment Template for[Patient Name].” The customized equipment templates can be accessed fromthe Whiteboard screen (discussed below in connection with FIG. 15) orvia the Edit Menu on the Menu Toolbar. On the generalized equipmenttemplates, alarm priority (high, medium, or low) may be assigned for thealarms received via each of the ports in the room. The communicationinitiated to the wireless communication devices carried by designatedcaregivers in response to a generalized equipment alarm may include atext message including the name of the alarm for the associated port astyped in by the user when setting up the generalized equipment CareAlert template.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a Whiteboard screen 286 provides an overviewof the patients and room status of the associated unit. Screen 286includes a list of room numbers, patient names, the names of the primarycaregiver assigned to the patient, the caregiver number, each patient'sattending physician, and location of any caregivers tracked by system141. In the illustrative example, the patient's names are presented onscreen 286 in an encrypted format in which the first two letters of thepatient's last name appear first with the first letter capitalized, thenfollowed by a set of ellipses, then followed by the last letter of thepatient's last name capitalized, then followed by the first letter ofthe patient's first name in a lower case letter. Call buttons 192 andpage buttons 194 are provided next to each assigned caregiver's name andnumber. Buttons 192, 194 operate the same on screen 286 as was describedabove in connection with screen 170. An alert icon 288 appears in window286 next to the patient's name in any rooms in which an alarm conditionis detected by system 112. If the alarm condition has a High prioritylevel, icon 288 is red and white (i.e., a red button with a white imageof a bed therein) and flashes. If the alarm condition has a Mediumpriority, icon 288 is yellow and black and flashes. If the alarmcondition has a Low priority, icon 288 is yellow and black and isstatic. If multiple alarms associated with a particular patient occur,then multiple icons 288 appear next to the patients name on screen 286.

If the caregiver at the Master Nurse Call Station selects icon 288,system 112 responds with an Alert Information pop-up window 290, anexample of which is shown in FIG. 16. Window 290 includes a text block292 which indicates the type of alarm that is occurring. Also shown inwindow 290 is the name of the patient in a non-encrypted format and thepatient's room number. Illustratively, the patient's name and roomnumber appear beneath text block 292. Window 290 also has a Notes textblock 294 in which notes about the particular patient are shown. In theillustrative example, the notes indicate that the patient is a fallrisk, cannot speak, and is using oxygen.

Window 290 also has therein an Answer button 296, a Call Nearest button298, and a Close button 300. If button 296 is selected, system 112responds by establishing a communications link between the Master NurseCall Station and the Audio Station 158 at the location of the patientassociated with the alarm condition. If button 298 is selected, system112 responds by establishing a communication link between the MasterNurse Call Station and the Audio Station 158 at the location where thenearest caregiver assigned to the patient associated with the alarmcondition is located or with one of devices 146, 168 if the nearestcaregivers is carrying one of devices 146, 168. If button 300 isselected, system 112 responds by closing window 290.

As discussed above, the alarm conditions which result in alarmnotifications being sent to the Master Nurse Call Station and toassigned caregivers are programmable using various Care Alert Templatescreens. Some of the Care Alert Template screens are configured inaccordance with Standard of Care (SOC) parameters which are routinelyfollowed to provide different levels of care to patients with differentmedical conditions. Different alarm conditions are associated with thedifferent SOC's. For example, it may desirable for patients coming outof surgery to lie flat for one hour and then recline at a bed headsection elevation of fifteen degrees for two hours and then remain inbed for an additional four to six hours.

With the foregoing in mind, it is contemplated by this disclosure thatCare Alert Template screens are configurable so that as SOC's change orprogress at selected time intervals, system 112 automatically switchesat the appropriate times from one SOC Care Alert configuration to thenext SOC Care Alert configuration having different alarm parameters.Referring back to the above-described example, a first Care Alertconfiguration will result in an alarm being detected by system 112 ifthe head section angle and/or other bed deck sections are not inpositions allowing the patient to lie flat; a second Care Alertconfiguration will result in an alarm being detected by system 112 ifthe head section of the bed is not at fifteen degrees of elevation (plusand/or minus a tolerance range in some embodiments); and a third CareAlert configuration will result in an alarm being detected by system 112if the bed's scale system detects that a patient is about to exit thebed or has exited the bed.

After the progressive SOC sequence is initiated, such as by the hospitalbed detecting via its scale system that the patient has moved onto thebed (i.e., the patient has returned to the bed after surgery) or by oneor more user inputs made by a caregiver at the Master Nurse Call Stationor by a signal received by system 112 which originates from a wirelesscommunication device carried by a caregiver or from an audio station158, system 112 will apply the first Care Alert configuration for afirst time interval (one hour in the example) and thereafterautomatically switch to the second Care Alert configuration for a secondtime interval (two hours in the example) and thereafter switch to thethird Care Alert configuration for a third time interval (four to sixhours in the example). When system 112 switches from the first CareAlert configuration to the second Care Alert configuration, a transitionperiod may be programmed during which a reminder is sent to thepatient's assigned caregiver to notify the caregiver that the headsection of the bed should be raised to fifteen degrees. If, after thetransition period, the head section has not been raised, then system 112will detect the alarm condition and respond accordingly. If desired,system 112 may be programmed so that a message or reminder iscommunicated to the patient's assigned caregiver a programmed period oftime before a Care Alert configuration is scheduled to end and/or beforeanother Care Alert configuration is scheduled to begin.

While the time intervals in the given example are different timeintervals, it is within the scope of the disclosure for two or more ofthe time intervals to be the same amount of time. Furthermore, althoughin the given example, the time intervals are measured after system 112is triggered to initiate the SOC sequence, it is within the scope ofthis disclosure for particular starting and ending times (for example,2:30 p.m. as the starting time and 3:47 a.m. as the ending time) to beentered into appropriate fields when configuring the associated CareAlert templates. Thus, it is possible for two or more Care Alertconfigurations to be active for a particular patient at the same timewhen the time intervals for the two or more Care Alert configurationsoverlap. Two or more Care Alert configurations may be separated by aninterim period of time. It is within the scope of this disclosure forusers to program system 112 via the Care Alert screens so that thepriority level to be assigned to a particular detected alarm varies overtime. It will be appreciated that the number, type, and duration of CareAlert configurations in the SOC sequence are practically limitless inaccordance with this disclosure and are at the discretion of thecaregivers operating system 112.

In accordance with one embodiment of system 112, the alarm parametersentered and/or selected on the Care Alert screens are stored in memoryof server 114 and/or PC's 118 of system 112. Thereafter, system 112operates in accordance with application software to compare the datareceived from the multiple beds by system 112 to the alarm parametersstored in memory to determine whether any alarm conditions exist inconnection with any of the beds being monitored by system 112. In thisembodiment, therefore, the beds transmit to system 112 all available beddata for monitoring by system 112. Depending upon how the Care Alertscreens have been configured, some of the bed data transmitted by thebeds may not be associated with any of the conditions that system 112 ismonitoring. Thus, in some embodiments, one or more of the beds areprogrammable to avoid sending extraneous bed status data to system 112.In such embodiments potential bandwidth issues in system 112 and network110 are reduced since less data is transmitted to system 112 from theassociated beds.

In some embodiments of system 112 in which beds are programmable, oncethe Care Alert screens are configured with the alarm parameters for aparticular bed, system 112 notifies the bed as to the type of bedparameters system 112 has been programmed to monitor (hereinafterreferred to as “monitored parameter types”). The bed stores themonitored parameter types in memory associated with the bed andthereafter, the bed operates to transmit to system 112 data associatedonly with the monitored parameter types and does not transmit any dataassociated with parameters not being monitored by system 112. It isunderstood that some types of bed data may always be transmitted tosystem 112, such as bed identification (ID) data, regardless of thetypes of parameters that system 112 has been programmed to monitor viathe configuration of the Care Alert screens. After system 112 receivesthe data associated with the monitored parameter types, system 112compares the received data to the alarm parameters stored in memory ofsystem 112 to determine whether any alarm conditions exist. Thus, inthese embodiments, system 112 determines whether or not alarm conditionsexist based on periodic data transmitted by the bed, but the bed willonly transmit the bed data that system 112 has programmed the bed totransmit (i.e., the bed will periodically transmit only a subset of theavailable bed data based on commands received from system 112).

In other embodiments of system 112 in which beds are programmable, oncethe Care Alert screens are configured with the alarm parameters for aparticular bed, system 112 notifies the bed of the alarm parameters andthe bed stores the alarm parameters in its memory and operates tomonitor itself by comparing the appropriate bed data to the alarmparameters to determine whether an alarm condition exists. If an alarmcondition is detected by the bed, then the bed sends an alarm signal tosystem 112 to notify system 112 of the alarm condition, otherwise thebed does not transmit to system 112 the data associated with theparameters which the bed has been programmed by system 112 to monitor.Thus, until the bed determines that an alarm condition exists, theassociated bed data is not sent to system 112 which reduces the amountof data being communicated to system 112 thereby reducing the potentialfor bandwidth problems.

In still other embodiments, a first subset of bed data is transmitted tosystem 112 and system 112 operates to determine whether an alarmconditions exists for the parameters associated with the first subset ofbed data and the bed operates to determine whether an alarm conditionexists for parameters associated with a second subset of bed data inwhich case, the bed notifies system 112 of the alarm condition.Regardless of how system 112 detects that an alarm condition exists,system 112 responds in accordance with its programming to alert theappropriate caregiver(s) of the alarm condition as described above.

Referring now to FIG. 17, one or more computer devices 310, such as PC'sor servers or any other devices capable of executing software, areincluded as part of a computer network 312 and receive data from one ormore hospital beds 314, patient monitoring equipment 316 that senses oneor more patient physiological parameters, and one or more other piecesof medical equipment 318. One or more of computer devices 310 have arespective display screen 311 associated therewith. As indicated in FIG.17, types of data received from beds 314 include data relating to thefollowing: head angle (i.e., the angle that a head section of the bed iselevated relative to some other portion of the bed), bed height, siderail position, patient movement or position, and patient weight. Thislist is not exhaustive and it is within the scope of this disclosure forall types of data monitored by or accessible to circuitry of a hospitalbed to be communicated to devices 310 of network 312.

Examples of monitoring equipment 316 which communicate data to devices310 include, for example, blood pressure measuring devices, respirationrate measuring devices, temperature measuring devices, pulse oximeters,electrocardiograms (EKG's), and electroencephalograms (EEG's). Ascontemplated by this disclosure, equipment 316 includes equipment of alltypes that measure patient physiological conditions. Examples of otherpieces of medical equipment 318 which communicate data to devices 310include, for example, IV pumps, sequential compression devices such asthose having inflatable sleeves worn on limbs (usually, the legs) ofpatients and that are inflated and deflated sequentially to treat orprevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), air mattresses including those thatperform therapies (alternating pressure, continuous lateral rotationtherapy, pulsation, vibration, low air loss), and other therapy devicessuch as passive motion devices, ventilators, and the like. Ascontemplated by this disclosure, equipment 318 includes equipment of alltypes that are used in connection with the care and/or treatment ofpatients.

One or more of devices 310 includes software that permits caregivers toprogram alarm conditions (sometimes referred to herein as “boundaryconditions”) for not only beds 314 but also for one or more of thepieces of equipment 316, 318 coupled to network 312. Such programming ofthe alarm conditions using devices 310 is substantially similar to theprogramming that occurs using Care Alert templates as described above.In some embodiments, the alarm conditions for beds 314 and equipment316, 318 are programmable using a single PC 310 which may be located ata Master Nurse Call Station as part of a nurse call system of network312. Care Alert templates for equipment 316, 318 may be configured inaccordance with Standards of Care (SOC's) in a manner similar to themanner in which Care Alert templates for beds are configured asdescribed above. Therefore, the above discussion regarding progressiveSOC's (i.e., progressing from one SOC to another SOC on a time basis) isapplicable to equipment 316, 318 as well as to beds 314. Accordingly,various alarm conditions for beds 314 and one or more pieces ofequipment 316, 318 may be preconfigured in Care Alert templatesassociated with patient status or acuity level (i.e., the medicalcondition of the patient). To set all of the boundary conditions for aparticular bed 314 and associated equipment 316, 318, a caregiver maysimply input into one of devices 310 the patient status or acuity level.In addition, the above discussion regarding programming monitoredparameter types so that not all available is transmitted to the networkor programming a bed to monitor itself and only transmit certain data inresponse to the bed detecting an alarm condition is applicable toequipment 316, 318 as well.

The boundary conditions programmed by caregivers for beds 314 andequipment 316, 318 are stored in one or more databases 320, showndiagrammatically in FIG. 18, which may be resident on the same device310 that a caregiver uses to program the boundary conditions or on oneor more other devices 310 of network 312. The data to be monitored,which is transmitted to network 312 by beds 314 and equipment 316, 318,is stored in one or more databases 322, also shown diagrammatically inFIG. 18, which is resident on one or more of devices 310 of network 312.

An algorithm 324 which is included in software that is executed by oneor more of devices 310 is shown in FIG. 18. According to algorithm 324state data associated with one of the conditions being monitored isretrieved from database 322 as indicated at block 326 and boundarycondition data associated with the monitored conditions is retrievedfrom database 320 as indicated at block 328. A comparison is then madeto determine whether the state data violates the boundary condition(e.g., alarm threshold) as indicated at block 330. Depending upon thetype of condition associated with the retrieved state data, a boundarycondition violation may be considered to exist if state data is greaterthan, greater than or equal to, less than, less than or equal to, equalto, or not equal to the boundary condition. Thus, the logic of algorithm324 in connection with the comparison made at block 330 is at thediscretion of the software programmer and will likely vary for differenttypes of state data and associated boundary conditions.

If at block 330 it is determined that an alarm condition exists (i.e.,the state data violates the boundary condition), then one or moreassigned caregivers are alerted of the alarm condition as indicated atblock 332. Devices 310 or network 312 operate to alert caregivers ofalarm conditions in any of the manners described above. If at block 330it is determined that an alarm condition does not exist (i.e., the statedata does not violate the boundary condition), then algorithm 324proceeds back to block 326 to retrieve the next state data forcomparison to its associated boundary condition.

If progressive SOC templates are programmed, then algorithm 324 ismodified to include some extra steps as shown in FIG. 19. In FIG. 19,database 320 is shown as three separate databases 320 which includerespective boundary conditions sets one, two, and three. If progressiveSOC templates are programmed, then data regarding the SOC progression isstored in one or more databases 334. After retrieving state data atblock 326, data from database 334 is retrieved as indicated at block 336and then the device 310 running algorithm 324 proceeds to determinewhich boundary condition set is applicable as indicated at block 338.Thereafter, the device 310 running algorithm 324 retrieves theappropriate boundary conditions set from the boundary condition setsstored on databases 320 as indicated at block 328 and proceeds asdescribed above to determine whether a boundary conditions is violatedat block 330 and, if so, to alert one or more caregivers of theviolation at block 332.

As mentioned above, hospital beds in accordance with this disclosure maycommunicate with a network in a healthcare facility via wired and/orwireless connections. Some prior art hospital beds do not include theappropriate hardware and/or software to communicate with a hospitalnetwork using Ethernet protocols such as TCP/IP, for example. Somehospital beds include data output ports that are connectable via cordsor cables to interface units of a nurse call system and these hospitalbeds may transmit bed status data according to a particular interfaceprotocol different than a standard Ethernet protocol. Such a hospitalbed that communicates with a nurse call system is shown, for example, inU.S. Pat. No. 6,362,725.

According to this disclosure a network interface unit 340 couples to ahospital bed 342 as shown in FIG. 20. Bed 342 includes bed controlcircuitry 344 which controls the various functions of bed 342 and thatmonitors the status of the various bed functions. Bed 342 also includesbed communication circuitry 346 through which bed status data iscommunicated. Bed communications circuitry 346 includes a communicationsport designed for mating with a connector of a nurse call cable, such asa cable having a 37-pin connector, which, in turn, couples to a nursecall system. Interface unit 340 couples to the connector of circuitry346, such as via a pigtail connector extending from a housing of unit340, in lieu of the nurse call cable.

Unit 340 includes protocol conversion circuitry that converts the datawhich is received from bed 342 and which is formatted according to afirst protocol, such as the interface protocol described in U.S. Pat.No. 6,362,725, into a format according to a second protocol, such as astandard Ethernet protocol. Unit 340 includes a communications port,such as an RJ-45 port, which is coupleable via a cable to a wiredinterface 348 of a hospital network or Ethernet 350. Interface 348 is anRJ-45 in some embodiments. Unit 340 also includes circuitry forcommunicating wirelessly with a wireless interface 352 of Ethernet 350.In some embodiments, interface 352 comprises a wireless transceiver,such as an 802.11 access point like unit 144 shown in FIG. 10. Thus,data received from bed 342 by unit 340 according to the first protocolis sent to interface 348 and/or interface 352 according to the secondprotocol. In addition, data received by unit 340 from network 350according to the second protocol is converted by unit 340 into theformat associated with the first protocol and then forwarded on tocircuitry 344 of bed 342 through circuitry 346. In some embodiments,unit 340 is configured to couple only to one or the other of interfaces348, 352. In some embodiments, the protocol conversion circuitry isomitted from unit 340 such that data is transmitted by unit 340according to the same protocol in which the data was received from bed340 and network 350 transmits data to unit 340 according to this sameprotocol.

In the illustrative example, data communicated from unit 340 to wiredinterface 348 is provided to a first network application 354 and datacommunicated from unit 340 to wireless interface 352 is provided to asecond network application 356 and to a third network application 358.Network applications include, for example, nurse call system software,admission-discharge-tracking (ADT) system software, electronic medicalrecords (EMR) system software, workflow system software, medical recordsarchiving system software, and the like. It is contemplated by thisdisclosure that a first subset of bed data is communicated to interface348, but not to interface 352, and that a second subset of bed data iscommunicated to interface 352, but not to interface 348. It is alsocontemplated by this disclosure that the same bed data is communicatedto both interfaces 348, 352.

In some embodiments, unit 340 includes circuitry that determines whetheror not unit 340 is coupled to interface 348. In such embodiments, ifunit 340 is coupled to interface 348, then bed data will be communicatedvia the wired data link to interface 348 and no attempts will be made byunit 340 to communicate with interface 352. If, on the other hand, unit340 is not coupled to interface 348, then bed data will be communicatedvia the wireless data link to interface 352. Unit 340 may be coupled tointerface 348, for example, when bed 342 is stationary in a hospitalroom and unit 340 may be uncoupled from interface 348, for example, whenbed 342 is being transported through a healthcare facility from onelocation to another. Thus, unit 340 permits wireless communication withnetwork 350 during transport of bed 342.

Based on the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that units340 may be used to retrofit existing hospital beds with the ability tocommunicate with a hospital Ethernet either wirelessly and/or via awired connection according to an Ethernet protocol. However, hospitalbeds manufactured with the circuitry and functionality of units 340included therein are within the scope of this disclosure as depicted inFIG. 21 in which a network interface unit 360 is included as part of ahospital bed 362. Portions of FIG. 21 that are the same as, orsubstantially similar to, like portions of FIG. 20 are denoted with likereference numerals. In some embodiments, network interface units 340,360 may include connection ports for nurse call cables to provide feedthrough of bed data to legacy (i.e., existing) nurse call systems whichare not otherwise able to communicate via the hospital Ethernet.

A network interface unit 366 which is used with a bed 364, but which isnot mounted to or integrated into the bed like units 340, 360 discussedabove, includes a first coupler or connector 368 which is coupleable tobed 364, a second coupler or connector 370 which is coupleable to anurse call system 372, and a third coupler or connector 374 which iscoupleable to a hospital Ethernet as shown in FIG. 22. Unit 366 may bemounted, for example, to a room wall or to a head wall unit in ahospital room. In the illustrative example, coupler 368 comprises afemale 37-pin interface that mates with a male 37-pin connector providedat the end of a cable extending from bed 364. Also in the illustrativeexample, coupler 370 comprises a male 37-pin interface that mates with afemale 37-pin connector provided at the end of a cable that couples tonurse call system 372. Illustrative connector 374 comprises an RJ-45Ethernet port which allows unit 366 to be coupled to the hospitalEthernet via an appropriate cable. Thus, connector 374 is sometimesreferred to herein as “port 374.”

When bed 364 is coupled to connector 368 and nurse call system 372 iscoupled to connector 370, communications between bed 364 and nurse callsystem 372 take place over a first data link 376, a second data link378, and a feed through data link 380. Data link 376 is establishedbetween bed 364 and connector 368. Data link 378 is established betweenconnector 370 and nurse call system 372. Data link 380 is establishedbetween connector 368 and connector 370. While data links 376, 378, 380are typically wired data links, it is within in the scope of thisdisclosure for one or more of data links 376, 378, 380 to be wirelessdata links, such as infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF) data links. Inthe illustrative example, connectors 368, 370 are mounted to a connectorprinted circuit board (PCB) 382.

As mentioned above, connector 374 permits unit 366 to be coupled to ahospital Ethernet. Thus, data received from bed 364 and nurse callsystem 372 via data links 376, 378 may be transmitted to other devicesincluded in the hospital Ethernet through port 374. Port 374 is coupledto a processor PCB 384 to which is also coupled a processor 386 whichoperates under software control to convert data received from bed 364and system 372 from the received format into an appropriate formataccording to an Ethernet protocol, such as the TCP/IP protocol.Processor 386 has a set of general purpose input/output (GPIO)connectors 388 and a serial peripheral interface (SPI) connector 390.Connector 390 is coupled to 20 milliamp (mA) current loop hardware 392which, in turn, is coupled to connector 368 for communication of a SPIsignal 394. Connector 368 is also coupled to connectors 388 of processor386 for communication of a priority call interface signal 396, a nursecall interface signal 398, and a nurse call cancel signal 400 which isreceived from a cancel button 410 that is coupled to PCB 382.

Connector 370 is coupled to connectors 388 of processor 386 through afirst relay 412 and a second relay 414 for communication of a nurse callsignal 416 and a priority call signal 418, respectively. Processor 386is also coupled to an oscillator 420, a configuration module 422, and aset of status light emitting diodes (LED's) 424. Various memory devices,such as read only memory (ROM) 426, random access memory (RAM) 428, andan Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) 430 arealso coupled to processor 386. Various software applications 432 arestored in the memory devices for execution by processor 386. In theillustrative example, software applications 432 are stored in ROM 426and include real time operating system (RTOS) software and Ethernetsoftware such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) software,file transfer protocol (FTP)/telnet software, and extensible markuplanguage (XML) software. The given software types are intended to beexemplary, not exhaustive. Therefore, it is within the scope of thisdisclosure for all types of software allowing communications betweenunit 466 and a hospital Ethernet to be stored in one or more of devices426, 428, 430 and executed by processor 386.

Illustratively, processor 386 includes a debug module 434 which iscoupled via a data link 436 to a Joint Test Action Group (JTAG)connector 438. A diagnostic device may couple to connector 438 andperform boundary scanning to read and set the value of the pins ofprocessor 386 and optionally, to read and set the value of other deviceson PCB 384 and/or the internal registers of processor 386. Illustrativeprocessor further includes a 10/100 media access controller (MAC) module440 which operates to permit unit 366 to communicate with the hospitalEthernet at a data transmission rate of 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) or100 Mbps. Module 440 is coupled to an Ethernet physical layer (PHY)module 442 for communication of Media Independent Interface (MII)signals 444. Module 442 is coupled to an oscillator 446 and a set ofLED's 448. Module 442 is also coupled to, or optionally includes, anelectrical isolation device 450 such as a transformer. Device 450electrically isolates the data signals communicated on a data link 452between module 442 and connector 374.

Unit 466 includes an alternative direct current (DC) power port 454which is coupled to power regulation, protection, and brownout circuitry456 by one or more power conductors 458. Power from an external sourceis coupleable to port 454 and is used for operating the variouscomponents of unit 366. One or more power over Ethernet (PoE) conductors460 are also coupled to circuitry 456 so that, if connector 374 iscoupled to the hospital Ethernet, power from the Ethernet may be usedfor operating the components of unit 366. Circuitry 456 is also coupledto a Watchdog/Power On Reset circuit 462.

As mentioned above, unit 366 is coupleable via connectors 368, 370, 374to bed 364, nurse call system 372, and the hospital Ethernet,respectively. In the illustrative example, nurse call system 372 doesnot communicate according to an Ethernet protocol, but rather unit 366provides a connection between nurse call system 372 and the Ethernet andconverts data from system 372 into the appropriate format for Ethernetcommunication. In alternative arrangements, nurse call system 372 is notcoupled to connector 370 via data link 378, but rather nurse call system372 is configured to communicate via an Ethernet protocol and sends datato, and receives data from, unit 366 via port 374. In such alternativearrangements, unit 366 converts the data received via port 374 from thenurse call system into the appropriate format for communication to bed364 via connector 368 and data link 376.

Referring now to FIG. 23, nurse call system 372 is coupled to a hospitalEthernet 466 via a data link 468 and bed 364 is coupled to networkinterface unit (NIU) 366 via data link 376. Unit 366 is, in turn,coupled to Ethernet 466 via a data link 470 which is coupled to port 374of unit 366. Data links 376, 468, 470 are typically wired data links.However, it is within the scope of this disclosure for data links 376,468, 470 to be wireless. Referring now to FIG. 24, an alternativearrangement is shown in which bed 364 is configured to communicatewirelessly with a wireless access point transceiver 472 that is coupledto Ethernet 466. Bed 364 communicates bidirectionally with transceiver472 according to an appropriate Ethernet protocol and transceiver 472communicates bidirectionally with Ethernet 466 via a data link 474.

It will be appreciated that a hospital will have multiple beds, similarto bed 364, and multiple network interface units 366 associated with thevarious beds. Each unit 366 is mounted at a particular location in ahospital. For example, one or more units 366 will be located in variouspatient rooms. Each bed 364 and each unit 366 is assigned a uniqueidentification (ID) code, such as a serial number. In some embodiments,one or more of the computer devices of nurse call system 372 havesoftware that operates to associate bed ID data with NIU ID data so thatsystem 372 can keep track of which bed is located in each room of thehospital and convey this information to caregivers using system 372.

Processor 386 of unit 366 operates to determine whether or not port 374is coupled to Ethernet 466. Depending upon whether or not the unit 366is connected to Ethernet 466 via port 374, the data path of the bed IDdata and the NIU ID data to nurse call system 372 is different. If unit366 senses that port 374 is coupled to Ethernet 466 as shown in FIG. 23,for example, then the associated bed 364 sends its bed ID data to theunit 366, as indicated by arrow 476, and then unit 366 communicates itsNIU ID data and the bed's ID data to Ethernet 46 in packets through port374 as indicated by arrows 478, 480, respectively. If unit 366 sensesthat port 374 is not coupled to Ethernet 466, as shown in FIG. 24, forexample, then unit 366 sends its NIU ID data to the associated bed 364,as indicated by arrow 482, and then bed 364 wirelessly transmits its bedID data and the NIU ID data to transceiver 472 in wireless packets asindicated by arrows 484, 486, respectively. The data path for othertypes of bed status data is the same path as that for bed ID data shownin FIGS. 23 and 24 depending upon whether or not unit 366 is connectedto Ethernet via port 374.

Beds 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 each have power cords (not shown) thatare plugged into electrical outlets in hospital rooms during normal useof the beds 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364, regardless of whether the beds10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 communicate with other devices in theassociated network via wired or wireless connections. According to thisdisclosure, when the power cords of beds 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 areunplugged, which usually happens when the bed is to be moved from onelocation in a healthcare facility to another, the associated Care Alerttemplates are automatically disabled, for example, by system 112 in thecase of beds 159. Thus, even if the bed 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 isstill able to communicate bed data wirelessly during transit from onelocation to another, the associated nurse call system (e.g., system 112)does not initiate any communications with the wireless communicationdevices carried by the caregivers. Such alarm notifications are notgenerally needed because other caregivers should be accompanying the bed10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 during transit. Before the automaticdisabling of the Care Alert templates, a slight delay period, such as 10or 20 seconds, may be required to elapse so that, if the bed's powerplug was unplugged inadvertently, there is time to plug the bed back inbefore the Care Alert templates are disabled.

In the case of beds 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 that communicatewirelessly, data is sent from the bed's wireless transmitter to notifythe associated nurse call system that the bed has been unplugged. Suchdata may be transmitted after the above-mentioned delay period (i.e.,the bed determines when the delay period has elapsed) or substantiallyimmediately in response to the bed being unplugged (i.e., the nurse callsystem determines when the delay period has elapsed). In the lattercase, appropriate data is sent from the bed's wireless transmitter ifthe bed is plugged back in before the delay period elapses so that thenurse call system does not disable the Care Alert template.

Beds having wireless communication circuitry may be powered by batteryback-up power or by one or more capacitors for a period of timesufficient to permit the transmission of data indicating that the bedhas been unplugged (and, in some embodiments, for a returnacknowledgment to be received by the bed). In the case of beds 10, 159,314, 342, 362, 364 coupled to NIU 366, the NIU 366 sends appropriatesignals to the nurse call system indicating either that the power cordof the bed has been unplugged or that the bed has been unplugged fromthe NIU 366. Additionally or alternatively, the nurse call system mayalso conclude that the bed 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 has beenunplugged and is in transit if a different wireless transceiver orreceiver (such as units 140) of an associated locating-and-trackingsystem (such as system 141) receives signals from the tag (such as tag142) mounted to the bed 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 and proceed toautomatically disable the Care Alert alarm notifications as a result.

In some embodiments, after the bed 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 reachesits new location and the associated power cord is plugged back in, acaregiver signals the nurse call system to re-enable the Care Alerttemplates for the particular bed. Caregivers may re-enable the CareAlert templates for the particular bed 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 bymaking appropriate entries on either an audio station in the room, acomputer at the master nurse call station, or the wireless communicationdevice carried by the caregiver. The re-enabling of the Care Alerttemplate may be made by voice commands entered into the wirelesscommunication device in some embodiments.

Because the nurse call system receives bed ID data, the particular CareAlert template associated with the bed 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 isknown by the nurse call system. Thus, unless overridden by users of thenurse call system, the association between bed, patient, and assignedcaregivers is maintained by the nurse call system even if the bed ismoved to a new location. If one of the assigned caregivers does notre-enable the Care Alert template within a predetermined period of timeafter the nurse call system determines that the bed has been pluggedback in (such determination being made in any of the ways describedabove for determining that the bed has been unplugged), then a reminderto re-enable the Care Alert template may be initiated by the nurse callsystem to the wireless communication devices carried by one or more ofthe assigned caregivers.

In alternative embodiments, the nurse call system may re-enable the CareAlert templates automatically after bed 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 hasbeen moved and then plugged back in. Alternatively or additionally, thenurse call system may initiate a communication to the wirelesscommunication devices of assigned caregivers advising that the nursecall system will re-enable the Care Alert templates within apredetermined period of time unless receiving instructions not to do so.

The data received from beds 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 by theassociated nurse call system (such as system 112) may be provided toother systems of the hospital network. In one example, beds 10, 159,314, 342, 362, 364 having weigh scale systems transmit patient weight tosystem 112 which, in turn, transmits the patient weight data to anelectronic medical records (EMR) system (such as system 18) which, inturn, stores the weight information in the associated patient's record.The nurse call system 112 may convert the data from one communicationprotocol into another communication protocol. Thus, patient weight datareceived by system 112 may be converted by system 112 into the HealthLevel 7 (HL7) protocol for transmission to the EMR system.

Hospital computer networks are usually coupled to the Internet.Accordingly, because beds 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 are coupled to thehospital network (such as network 110), data from beds 10, 159, 314,342, 362, 364 may be made available on the Internet. Such data ispassword protected in some embodiments. In addition, software upgradesmay be communicated to beds 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 and to the nursecall system by the bed manufacturer and the nurse call systemmanufacturer, for example, over the Internet and hospital network. Thesoftware upgrades to the bed may be received from the hospital networkwirelessly or via a wired connection to the hospital network.Additionally or alternatively, the software of the nurse call systemand/or bed may be field upgradeable via a computer that a fieldtechnician couples to the hospital network while visiting the facility.

Different types of hospital beds have different features and functions.Thus, beds 10, 159, 314, 342, 362, 364 may not have all of the types offunctions that may be configured on certain ones of the Care Alerttemplates. For example, not all beds have bed exit systems or weighscale systems. As another example, many beds don't have specializedtherapy surfaces such as rotation surfaces, low-air-loss surfaces, oralternating pressure surfaces. According to this disclosure, beds 10,159, 314, 342, 362, 364 transmit data to the associated nurse callsystem (such as system 112) which indicates the bed configuration (e.g.,the types of functions with which the bed is equipped). In someembodiments, the nurse call system “grays out” (e.g., renders unusable)the portions of any Care Alert templates corresponding to feature andfunctions not present on the associated bed. In other embodiments, thenurse call system removes such features or functions from the Care Alerttemplates altogether. In still other embodiments, the nurse call systemmay provide a notification at the master nurse call station and/or via atransmission to an assigned caregiver's wireless communication device toindicate that a particular bed lacks a particular function included on aparticular Care Alert template that the user is attempting to configurefor the particular bed. Such notifications may also be provided by thenurse call system in those situations where a Care Alert template isfirst assigned to a patient (such as via the ADT system as describedabove) and then, subsequently, a bed lacking certain features orfunctions is assigned to the patient.

It should be understood that features of each of the embodimentsdescribed above are applicable to all of the other describedembodiments. For example, the description of features and functions ofthe system of FIGS. 1-9 are applicable to the system of FIGS. 10-16 andvice versa. The features of the system and algorithm of FIGS. 17-19 areapplicable to the FIG. 1-9 and FIG. 10-16 systems and vice versa. Themanner in which beds 342, 362, 364 connect to other systems via variouswired and wireless connectivity schemes is also applicable to beds 10 ofthe FIG. 1-9 system, to beds 159 of the FIG. 10-16 system, and to beds314 of the FIG. 17-19 system.

Although certain embodiments have been described in detail above,variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of thisdisclosure as described and as defined in the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising at least one computerdevice coupled to a hospital Ethernet, the hospital Ethernet having atleast one wired access point and at least on wireless access point, ahospital bed having associated therewith bed identification (ID) data,and a network interface unit (NIU) coupled to the hospital bed, the NIUhaving associated therewith NIU ID data, the NIU having a communicationsport that is coupleable to the Ethernet via a data link, the NIU beingconfigured to sense whether the communications port is coupled to theEthernet via the data link, wherein if the NIU is coupled to theEthernet via the data link then the bed ID data received by the NIU istransmitted along with the NIU ID data to the Ethernet over the datalink, wherein if the NIU is not coupled to the Ethernet via the datalink then the NIU ID data received by the hospital bed is transmittedwirelessly by the hospital bed to one of the wireless access points ofthe Ethernet along with the bed ID data.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the computer device is operable to communicate with at least oneof the following: an electronic medical records database, a nurse callbadge, a nurse location badge, a workflow process system, a personaldata assistant (PDA), a voice communication badge, a badge having textmessage capability, and a pager.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thehospital bed has a power plug which plugs into a power outlet to providepower to the hospital bed and the computer device is operable to receiveplug-connection data indicative of whether the power plug of thehospital bed is plugged into the power outlet.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the hospital bed communicates bed data to the network interfaceunit and the network interface unit is operable to convert bed dataformatted according to a first protocol into an Ethernet protocol. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein the hospital bed has a data cable whichplugs into the network interface unit, and the computer device receivescable-connection data indicative of whether the data cable of thehospital bed is plugged into the network interface unit.
 6. The systemof claim 1, wherein the hospital bed has wireless communicationcircuitry that transmits in-transit data indicating that the hospitalbed is in transit.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the hospital bedtransmits the in-transit data in response to a power cord of thehospital bed being unplugged.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theinterface unit is coupled to the hospital bed by a data cable, thenetwork interface unit being configured to transmit in-transit data tothe computer device in response to the data cable being unplugged fromthe network interface unit.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the NIU ismounted to a wall of a room in which the hospital bed is located. 10.The system of claim 9, wherein the NIU is coupled to the hospital bedvia a data cable.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the hospital bedhas an output port, the NIU is mounted to the hospital bed, and the NIUis coupled to the output port via a data cable.
 12. The system of claim1, wherein the hospital bed has bed circuitry and the NIU is included aspart of the bed circuitry.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one computer device comprises a nurse call computer, the NIU isconfigured to receive a nurse call signal from the hospital bed andtransmit the nurse call signal to the nurse call computer via theEthernet.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the NIU includes a nursecall cancel input that is useable to cancel the nurse call signal. 15.The system of claim 1, wherein the data link comprises one of a wireddata link and a wireless data link.
 16. The system of claim 1, whereinthe network interface unit includes a first coupler that receives datafrom the hospital bed in a format according to a first protocol, whereinthe communications port serves as a second coupler through which data isprovided to the Ethernet in a format according to an Ethernet protocol,and wherein the network interface unit includes a third coupler throughwhich data is provided to a nurse call system in a format according tothe first protocol.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the firstcoupler comprises a 37-pin interface, the second coupler comprises anRJ-45 port, and the third coupler comprises a 37-pin interface.
 18. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the NIU includes a feed through data linkbetween the first coupler and the third coupler.
 19. The system of claim18, wherein the feed through data link is used to feed to the thirdcoupler a signal that is received from the hospital bed at the firstcoupler and wherein the signal controls one of room lighting and anentertainment device.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein the at leastone computer device comprises a computer of the nurse call system.